Historic Himalayan Ice Dams Created Huge Lakes, Mammoth Floods

Science Daily ^ | Dec. 27, 2004

[george76]

Ice dams across the deepest gorge on Earth created some of the highest-elevation lakes in history. New research shows the most recent of these lakes, in the Himalaya Mountains of Tibet, broke through its ice barrier somewhere between 600 and 900 AD, causing massive torrents of water to pour through the Himalayas into India.

Geological evidence points to the existence of at least three lakes, and probably four, at various times in history when glacial ice from the Himalayas blocked the flow of the Tsangpo River in Tibet, said University of Washington geologist David Montgomery, a professor of Earth and space sciences.

Carbon dating shows the most recent lake, about 780 feet deep, burst through the ice dam between 1,100 and 1,400 years ago, rapidly draining some 50 cubic miles of water. The second lake, more than 2,200 feet deep, dates from about 10,000 years ago, and likely held more than 500 cubic miles of water.

When that ice dam broke, it caused one of the greatest floods on Earth since the last ice age. The Tsangpo is the world's highest river, with an average elevation of 13,000 feet, about 500 feet higher than South America's Lake Titicaca, the highest lake.

The Tsangpo flows to the eastern edge of Tibet before it turns south and plunges through a deep gorge into India, where it eventually becomes the Brahmaputra River and flows into the Bay of Bengal.

The Tsangpo River Gorge is considered some of the most spectacular terrain on Earth, as the river drops 7,800 feet (about 1.3 miles) in elevation over the course of about 125 miles.

[george76]

Global Warming between 600 and 900 AD ?

.

[george76]

A hillside in the Tsangpo River Gorge of Tibet shows evidence of two ancient lakes, formed when glacial ice blocked the river.

The lower line of vegetation marks the edge of the smaller, more recent, lake and the upper line marks the shore of a much larger lake about 10,000 years ago.

[Coyoteman]

There are some great examples of this in the Pacific Northwest.

Here is a good link:

http://www.uwsp.edu/geo/projects/geoweb/participants/dutch/VTrips/Scablands0.HTM

[BIGLOOK]

Global Warming between 600 and 900 AD ?

Doubtful, George......Probably the result of the Medieval Minimum.

[george76]

Thanks.

I hear that , from the air, one can see huge sand deposits in forms of ripples made by the river currents.

Up close, these repeating hills are not so obvious ?

[WVNight]

That’s a great link. I have often wondered in which order these areas were created. Fascinating.

[george76]

This so confusing...Medieval Minimum...

[Coyoteman]

I hear that , from the air, one can see huge sand deposits in forms of ripples made by the river currents.

Up close, these repeating hills are not so obvious ?

The features are indeed best from the air (I have flown a private plane over the area).

I also did a number of field trips to that area during grad school. Fascinating formations (once you realize what they are)!

The website I posted upthread has one of the best visual explanations for the formations, but there are also some other good sites. Do a google for "channeled scablands" and see what else is out there.

[george76]

Thanks.

Sounds like fun to see the geology from the air.

Where is a good place to start for a trip ?

[Coyoteman]

Sounds like fun to see the geology from the air.

Where is a good place to start for a trip ?

If you are in a private plain you can start from a lot of places: Yakima, the Tri Cities, Pullman, Ellensburg, Spokane, even the Seattle/Tacoma area. Aim for Palouse Falls and areas upstream.

The important thing is to have some good references to help with locations, and what to look for. Check the various sources on the web for further information.

[beelzepug]

Amazing place, Dry Falls. We go to Sun Lakes camping every summer. You can see one of the lakes in the picture taken from the Dry Falls Interpretive Center. Already looking forward to next year.

[CHUCKfromCAL]

Noah’s flood?

[Grizzled Bear]

Noah’s flood?

---

Somewhere between 600 and 900 AD? Unlikely.

[Grizzled Bear]

Ping for your interest.

[SunkenCiv]

Thanks george76.

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[SunkenCiv]

somethin’ nutty, the only other mention of the Tsangpo, apparently:

Voyage to Our Hollow Earth - 24 Day Trip (you’ve *gotta* see this!)
memepool | He didn’t type in the “Stardate” | Rodney M. Cluff
Posted on 12/18/2003 11:13:01 AM EST by Constitution Day
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/1042811/posts

[SunkenCiv]

from the hard drive:

Back To Siberia: The Biggest Flood?
by William Corliss

About 14,000 years ago, a wall of water 1,500 feet high surged down the Chuja River valley at 90 miles per hour. A. Rudoy, a geologist at Tomsky State Pedagogical Institute, points to giant gravel bars along the Chuja River valley. These are not the inch-sized ripples we seen on the floors of today's rivers; these are giants measuring tens of yards from crest to crest. Only a catastrophic flood could have piled up these ridges of debris. Rudoy postulates that, during the Ice Ages, a huge ice dam upstream held back a lake 3,000 feet deep, containing 200 cubic miles of water. When the ice dam suddenly ruptured, all life and land downstream was devastated.

Catastrophic Flood Dynamic Database

[SunkenCiv]

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[GovernmentIsTheProblem]

“Mammoth Floods”

Sounds pretty hairy!

[Professional]